Ford urges 2,900 pickup owners to stop driving after new Takata death

WASHINGTON - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it had confirmed a second death in an older pickup truck caused by a defective airbag inflator of Takata Corp and urged 2&comma;900 owners in North America to stop driving immediately until they can get replacement parts&period;

The second largest U&period;S&period; automaker said it confirmed in late December that a July 2017 crash death in West Virginia in a 2006 Ford Ranger was caused by a defective Takata inflator&period; It previously reported a similar death in South Carolina that occurred in December 2015&period;

Ford said both Takata deaths occurred with inflators built on the same day installed in 2006 Ranger pickups&period; At least 21 deaths worldwide are linked to the Takata inflators that can rupture and send deadly metal fragments into the driver's body&period; The faulty inflators have led to the largest automotive recall in history&period; The other 19 deaths have occurred in Honda Motor Co vehicles&comma; most of which were in the United States&period;

Ford issued a new recall for automobiles that had been previously recalled in 2016&period; Of those 391&comma;000 2004-2006 Ranger vehicles&comma; the new recall announced on Thursday affects 2&comma;900 vehicles&period; These include 2&comma;700 in the United States and nearly 200 in Canada&period; The new recall will allow for identification of the 2&comma;900 owners in the highest risk pool&period;

A Mazda Motor Corp spokeswoman said Thursday the company would conduct a similar recall and stop drive warning for some 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks&comma; which were built by Ford and are similar to the Ranger&period;

Japanese auto supplier Takata plans to sell its viable operations to Key Safety Systems&comma; an affiliate of China's Ningo Joyson Electric Corp&comma; for &dollar;1&period;6 billion&period; Takata did not immediately comment Thursday on the Ford action&period;

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged owners to heed Ford's warning&period; "It is extremely important that all high-risk air bags are tracked down and replaced immediately&comma;" NHTSA spokeswoman Karen Aldana said&period;

Ford said it would pay to have vehicles towed to dealerships or send mobile repair teams to owners' homes and provide free loaners if needed&period;

Takata said in June that it has recalled&comma; or expected to recall&comma; about 125 million vehicles worldwide by 2019&comma; including more than 60 million in the United States&period; Some 19 automakers worldwide are impacted&period;

Takata inflators can explode with excessive force&comma; unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks and have injured more than 200&period; The defect led Takata to file for bankruptcy protection in June&period;

In 2017&comma; prosecutors in Detroit charged three former senior Takata executives with falsifying test results to conceal the inflator defect&period; None have come to the United States to face charges&period;

Last year&comma; Takata pleaded guilty to wire fraud and were subject to pay a total of &dollar;1 billion in criminal penalties in a U&period;S&period; court in connection with the recalls&period;

Automakers have struggled to get enough replacement parts for the massive recalls&period; A November NHTSA report said about two-thirds of U&period;S&period; vehicles recalled have not yet been repaired&period;

Senator Bill Nelson&comma; a Democrat&comma; said in a statement on Thursday the latest death is evidence of "the very definition of a failed recall" pointing to the earlier Ford death in 2015&period; NHTSA must do more&comma; he said&comma; to make the recall a priority&period;

In November&comma; NHTSA rejected a petition from Ford to delay recalling 3 million vehicles with potentially defective airbag inflators to conduct additional testing&period;

In June 2016&comma; NHTSA warned airbag inflators on more than 300&comma;000 unrepaired recalled 2001-2003 model year Honda vehicles showed a substantial risk of rupturing&comma; and urged owners to stop driving them until getting them fixed&period; NHTSA said they have as high as a 50 percent chance of a rupture in a crash&period;